Skip to main content

Leave me alone! GPS glitch sends numerous owners of lost smartphones to Nevada man’s house

Nevada resident Wayne Dobson has had trouble getting a decent night’s sleep lately. It’s not because he has any particular worries on his mind, or that a noisy neighbor is keeping him awake. It’s because he keeps getting people knocking on his door demanding the return of their mobile phone.

Dobson’s woes are reportedly the result of a glitch with some handsets’ location-tracking software, which uses GPS and triangulation from mobile phone towers to determine the location of a missing device. In this particular case, it seems that the issue is related to a number of Sprint handsets. The company is said to be looking into the problem.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, 59-year-old Dobson has been visited on numerous occasions over the last two years by people demanding he return their mobile phone.

“They’ve yelled, shown him evidence, called the police – sworn that their phone is in his house,” the Journal said. He’s even had the police on domestic violence calls mistakenly directed to his home.

“It’s a hell of a problem,” Dobson told the Journal this week. Indeed, the situation has become so serious that he’s posted a sign on his front door which reads, “No lost cell phones!”

Dobson said on one occasion a visitor searching for her phone became extremely agitated when he insisted he didn’t have her handset.

“I’ve got pictures of my grandchildren,” she told him. “I can’t replace them. I need them. All I want are my pictures.” According to the Journal, Dobson called the woman’s cell phone provider, Sprint. A technician reportedly explained the problem, but didn’t offer any solution at the time.

In December last year, Dobson decided that the situation had gone “from a nuisance to a danger” when four men banged on his door at 2.30am demanding the return of a handset. Another incident, also last month, involved a scary confrontation with someone prowling outside his home with a flashlight at four in the morning.

Location-tracking technology has proved a useful way for owners of mobile phones to locate their missing device – when it works properly. Last year there were several stories of how the Find My iPhone app led to the arrest of a number of criminals.

As for Dobson, the poor man must be going out of his mind. “It’s like Pavlov’s response now,” he told the Journal. “I dread the thought when I hear a car drive by that they’re going to be pulling in and knocking on my door.”

Hopefully the issue will soon be resolved, allowing Dobson to once again get a restful night’s sleep.

[via Computerworld] [Image: Jojje / Shutterstock]

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Don’t buy this new Motorola phone — get this other one instead
Renders of the Moto G 5G (2024) and Moto G Power 5G (2024).

the Moto G 5G (left) and Moto G Power 5G Digital Trends

Budget phones can slip under the radar when shiny, powerful flagships launch. But if you're in the market for a smartphone that gets the job done and won't blow a four-figure hole in your bank balance, then a great budget smartphone is the way to go.

Read more
Get 32% off the cellular model of the iPad Pro 12.9 this weekend
The iPad Pro on a desk next to a stylus and AirPods.

If you've been thinking about getting the iPad Pro with cellular connectivity but you've been hoping to buy the tablet from iPad deals for a discount, this may be what you've been waiting for -- a 32% discount from Amazon's Woot on the 12.9-inch, Wi-Fi + Cellular model of the 2021 Apple iPad Pro with 128GB of storage. From $1,199, it's down to just $810, which is a steal price for this device with savings of $389. However, while there are still several days left on this offer, it's highly recommended that you proceed with the purchase immediately because there's a chance that stocks don't last that long.

Why you should buy the 2021 Apple iPad Pro 12.9
It's not the latest version of Apple's top-of-the-line tablet -- the honor goes to the 2022 Apple iPad Pro -- but the 2021 Apple iPad Pro is still a pretty powerful device by today's standards. That's because it's equipped with Apple's M1 chip, which promises fantastic speed and excellent graphics when you're working on your multimedia projects, multitasking between several apps, or playing console-level games. With its 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR touchscreen, you'll enjoy high-brightness and high-contrast content, and its mini-LED display provides deeper black levels and more vibrant colors.

Read more
Samsung Galaxy A55 vs. A54: all the big changes, explained
Renders of the Samsung Galaxy A55 next to the Galaxy A54.

Galaxy A55 (left) and Galaxy A54 Digital Trends

Samsung has been on a roll with new phone releases in 2024. At the end of January, Samsung released the flagship Galaxy S24 lineup. It's fantastic, but not everyone can afford the latest and greatest flagship. Thankfully, Samsung also makes budget-friendly alternatives, and that’s the appeal of the new Galaxy A55.

Read more